Lowe receives wedding gift

Monday, Dec. 9, 2002 | 10:17 a.m.

A memorable weekend that started with 19-year-old bareback rider Will Lowe marrying Tiffani Burton at the Treasure Island wedding chapel Saturday afternoon culminated in history Sunday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Lowe was rewarded with a Wrangler National Finals Rodeo-record 91 for his effort atop Chester Dipn Bandit.

"It's amazing," Lowe said. "I didn't think anything like that would happen. It's been a year full of surprises. When you're riding, you can't really score it very well. You just know it feels good, and I knew it felt good. But I didn't know it was that good."

Some of his peers, like Mark Gomes, instructed Lowe to keep his wits about him Sunday. He heeded that advice when Chester started lazily.

"She kind of felt a little awkward," Lowe said. "Not real strong. Then, she jumped, just fell out from under me."

The victory earned Lowe $13,922, tying him with Aussie Darren Clarke in average (82.7) and giving him $91,978 on the year. Bobby Mote, who has not earned a penny at the NFR, tops the bareback world money standings with $110,526.

Not a bad way for Lowe to begin a marriage. He had joked with some friends and relatives, 100 of which attended the ceremonies at Treasure Island, that he and Burton were going to do a drive-through deal or maybe get hitched by an Elvis impersonator.

"It sucked," Baumgartner said. "That's more times than I've been hooked all year."

Darrell Diefenbach also served as a decoy, but Baumgartner took the punishment in the third go-around. Afterward, he got a thorough check-up by medical personnel in a trainer's room as his right knee was wrapped in ice.

"Joe is awesome," said bull rider Zack Brown. "He's been the best one at his job for a long time."

Which is why Baumgartner is taking part in his 11th consecutive NFR. The cowboys themselves vote for their clown-faced protection, and many thanked Baumgartner in the arena, and before, during and after his 20-minute check-up.

Bill Pace was clocked in 3.8 seconds, good for $11,003 and within striking distance, at $98,746, of Myers in the world money standings.